Lives Under Chinese Communism, Caught on Film

Liu Heung Shing, a photographer with a long career in the West, has collected hard-to-find work of 88 photographers in China in a new photo book, which aims to show the sweep of ordinary life in China since 1949.

Two photos show communists on the beach: Marshal Ye Jianying, a military man in a pair of shorts, holding court over tea on a wicker table, as well as Chairman Mao himself, years earlier, sitting by the water with his family. Both photos show guarded men in unguarded moments. But there are also official communist stage extravaganzas and bloody victims of official crackdowns. China’s first millionaire can also be seen lying on his Mercedes. And naked laborers are depicted hauling a boat up a rocky river bank, with ropes, in 2005.